John Thorpe, grandson of the great Native American Indian athlete, Jim Thorpe, is adamant in his desire to keep his grandfather's body in the town that bears his name and continues to honor his legacy.

"The battle is not over yet, but we are on the last leg of this journey," said Thorpe of Lake Tahoe, California.The Olympian's grandson attended the 20th annual Jim Thorpe Birthday Celebration this weekend.The town got its name when it accepted the Olympian's remains.After discovering that his home state of Oklahoma refused to erect a suitable monument to honor this athletic hero following his death in March 1953, Jim Thorpe's widow and third wife, Patricia Askew, began looking for a place that would.She soon came across the towns of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk, which were in a period of economic decline at the time.Thorpe's widow suggested that uniting the two towns, bringing her husband's body there, and renaming the consolidated town "Jim Thorpe, PA" would be a fitting tribute and memorial to her husband.The two towns united in 1954. On Memorial Day of 1957, Thorpe was finally laid to rest above ground in a 20,000-pound red granite mausoleum.In 2010, John "Jack" Thorpe, the Olympian's son from his second marriage to Freeda Kirkpatrick, sued the borough for failing to comply with a 1990 federal law known as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.Jack Thorpe's brothers, Richard and William, took over the suit after Jack's death in 2011.In 2013, U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo ruled that the federal law trumped the contract between the borough and Patricia Thorpe. He found that the borough qualified as a museum, which defines it as a state or local government agency that receives federal funds.The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled in October last year that the law protecting the remains of Native Americans doesn't apply in Thorpe's case and that his body will remain in the town that bears his name.A federal appeals court declined to hear an appeal from Thorpe's sons this February. The family has until the June 4 deadline to pursue an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court for a final decision."My problem with this whole thing is that it is not what she (Grace Thorpe) wanted," said Sitting Bull's great-grandson, Ernie LaPointe of Lead, South Dakota.Sitting Bull was a Hunkpapa Lakota holy man who inspired and led his people as a tribal chief in their victory over the Seventh Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn."We are all children of Mother Earth," LaPointe said. "In our culture, it is the woman the mother, the matriarch who has the final say. It's taboo to go against her wishes."Referring to Grace as the matriarch of the family, LaPointe added, "It was her wish that her father's body remain here. Just because she has passed does not mean that they should go against her wishes."Grace, a tribal district court judge who died in April 2008, is a daughter from Thorpe's first marriage to Iva Miller.During the festivities this weekend, Don "Wild Eagle" Wuebber provided a Native American tribute at the Jim Thorpe Mausoleum.Following this ceremony, the Jim Thorpe Area High School Olympians cross-country and track teams carried a lighted torch from the mausoleum to the high school stadium.After lighting the torch for the Carbon County Special Olympics track and field competition there, the runners then proceeded through town to Josiah White Park at the train station where they lit the Olympic torch.Special medals were awarded to the cross-country, track, and cheerleading teams as well as to their coaches during a ceremony in the park.State Rep. Doyle Heffley read a unanimous proclamation by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives declaring May 16, 2015, "James Francis Thorpe Day" throughout the commonwealth. A large birthday cake was then presented and made available throughout the weekend."We had a little rain this morning, but as soon as the Native Americans arrived, the sun came out," said Anne Marie Fitzpatrick, event co-coordinator. "We are very pleased with the number of people who visited town this weekend to help us honor our namesake."Sponsored by Jim Thorpe Tourism Agency and Carbon County Chamber of Commerce, the event continued Sunday with free musical performances; Native American folklore, dancing, and drumming; craft and food vendors; Buster the Clown; a large "Olympian" Auction; train rides; and more.